Читать книгу Counseling the Contemporary Woman - Suzanne Degges-White - Страница 96

Before any further work, it is helpful to bear in mind Agneshka’s current developmental status. As a young woman of Polish descent, her cultural background will play a role in her counseling work, even though she was raised in the United States. As an emerging adult, she has needs for independence and intimacy. She is also working on getting her education in order to establish her professional career. Cognitively, postformal thought allows her to consider multiple angles and contradictory perspectives. Further, her dualistic tendencies (“right vs. wrong” thought patterns) still persist until she moves into relativistic thinking that will allow her to honor different opinions. She might not have access to all possible information needed in order to make the best decision, and there are no preestablished answers. She has met with barriers related to her expected gender role and her own vision of her career path and identity. While she wants to become a wife and a parent, her independence and career come first. Such difference in views (gender, family, and culture) and tendencies for dualistic thinking contribute to frequent relational conflict, leading her to see only one possible solution to her problems, to move out of her parents’ house. In relation to her stepmother, Agneshka’s behaviors can be seen as a result of competition over her dad’s attention. Further, feeling dismissed by her father and lacking a strong support network of female friends may contribute to her decision to date a man who is significantly older than she is and who is a father to two children; Agneshka may be seeking validation and support through this relationship.